Ontario Program Attracts National and International Sport Events

Home turf competition experience is a “win-win” for athletes and local economies

Ontario's Government for the People is working to make Ontario a destination of choice for national and international amateur sport events.

Applications for the first intake of Ontario's 2019-20 Sport Hosting Program are now being accepted. The program provides funding to support national and international amateur sport events that are hosted in Ontario. The deadline for applications is February 11, 2019.

The program provides invaluable elite competition experience to Ontario's athletes and strengthens local communities by drawing tourists, creating jobs and improving the local sport and recreation infrastructure.

Some examples of prior events that benefitted from Sport Hosting funding include:

2018 NACAC Championships (Toronto)

2018 Ford World Women's Curling Championships (North Bay)

2018 Alpine Snowboard Nationals (The Blue Mountains)

2017 & 2018 TISSOT UCI Track Cycling World Cup (Milton)

2017 Under-18 Baseball World Cup (Thunder Bay)

2017 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship (Toronto)

2016 FINA/NVC Diving World Series (Windsor)

Events must take place in Ontario, be open to the public and be sanctioned by the appropriate provincial, national or international sport organization.

Quick Facts

Since the inception of the Sport Hosting Program in 2015, Ontario has hosted 34 national and 33 international events that have generated over $58.5 million in economic activity.

In 2018-19, the Sport Hosting Program provided $1.4 million to support 21 national and international sport events that contributed almost $20 million to the GDP.

The 2017 World Junior (Hockey) Championships in Toronto contributed $18.7 million to the province’s economy and attracted more than 21,000 out of town visitors.

About 20,000 athletes have competed in and benefitted from these sport events since the inception of the program in 2015.

Additional Resources

Quotes

“Our Government for the People is proud of our athletes and their accomplishments, and we want to help them on their journey to greatness by providing opportunities for competition in Ontario. Sport events of this calibre not only help our athletes, they also generate a positive economic impact to communities across the province through job creation and tourism.”

Michael Tibollo

Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport

“Ontario Snowboard has been fortunate to have the support of the Government of Ontario’s Sport Hosting Program, it has allowed us to not only host international events within Ontario but also to provide support to our athletes, coaches and officials.”